Jerry,
You are so rite about stating a good crew can do anything.
In part I made my statement because, in my experience in my career in the Navy and Coast Guard, the amount of ET work has reduced because the equipment is so very much more reliable today, and so much more complicated that troubleshooting to componet level has been abonded as a repair strategy. Still need the ET's special skills when you need them, but in many instances the ET of today is helping other rates, or doing jobs that are not considered ET jobs.
Some of the things that I have done as an ET;
Communications Watch Suppervisor
Radar operator
Plotter
Harbor Defence Command Watch supervisor.
In port QMOW
Brig Turn Key
Setup GP Medium tents
Drive deuce and a half
fork lift operator
welder.
Boarding team member.
I never had to throw an eye splice into a line, but when a large timber was dropped underway on the U.S.S. Hunley and was wedged into the side of the missile break, The BMC said "some one clime up there and put a timber hitch on it" all of his deckies stood there with blank looks on there faces, so this ****en twiget took the rope climbed up there and put a timber hitch on the beam.
Task complete so I go back into the ET shop, as I was leaving the BMC yelled at the deckies " will I have to send you to the f***en twigets to learn how to tie knots?" I stayed away from deck bearthing after that.
A good ET takes care of ET stuff first, but in a pinch can step up and do just about anything that needs to be done.
I will look for a DC if there is welding to do, he will do it better than I can, but if necessary I can do it.
ect....
a good crew can do anything.
But if there is a job to do and you do not have someone in that rate to do the job, the most likely person to step up and fill in will be a good ET. (not all ET's are good ET's)
a good ET can do anything
